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2008

Western Kentucky University

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Articles 1 - 14 of 14

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Kamper Re-Visited Concert (Program), Klaus Kamper, Janet Bass Smith Oct 2008

Kamper Re-Visited Concert (Program), Klaus Kamper, Janet Bass Smith

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

One hundred years ago, a young German engineer named Max Kämper, came as a visitor to Mammoth Cave. He became so enchanted with the cavern he obtained permission to map the vast system. For the next eight months Max, along with assistance from cave guide Ed Bishop, meticulously put together a highly detailed and accurate map revealing more of the cave than ever before. He probably never realized his work would be admired by generations to follow. Some admire its artistic expression of the cave. Others see beauty in its precision. Ultimately, it has become the iconic map for generations …


Slave Guide Legacy At Mammoth Cave, Joy Medley Lyons Oct 2008

Slave Guide Legacy At Mammoth Cave, Joy Medley Lyons

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Serving as guides and explorers at Mammoth Cave partially rescued four men from the obscurity of enslavement. Stephen Bishop, Materson Bransford, Nicholas Bransford and a young man named Alfred all had their very existence documented in the written journals and diaries of various nineteenth century Mammoth Cave visitors. They were physically described, their personalities contemplated, their intelligence gauged, their dialects imitated. At least one abolitionist characterized Stephen Bishop as a charismatic natural leader who could govern the citizenry of freed men in Liberia, should he choose to relocate there.


Max Kämper’S Introduction To The New World, Stanley D. Sides, M.D. Oct 2008

Max Kämper’S Introduction To The New World, Stanley D. Sides, M.D.

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Twenty-seven year old engineer Max Eduard Kämper arrived in America at 4:00 pm on May 16, 1907 and was greeted by a thunderstorm. His presumed goals were to study American manufacturing methods, learn English, and enrich himself musically. New York had so many German immigrants at the time that German was the second most common language spoken in the city. He stayed at the Belvedere House at the corner of 4th Avenue and 18th Street, and the next day visited acquaintances in Newark. He visited New York landmarks and May 20 visited the famed Hippodrome theater. He moved on May …


Searching For Max: The Engineer, The War And The World´S Longest Cave (Part 1), Bernd Kliebhan Oct 2008

Searching For Max: The Engineer, The War And The World´S Longest Cave (Part 1), Bernd Kliebhan

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

In 1908 the German engineer Max Kämper mapped 35 miles of Mammoth Cave, KY. The “Kämper Map,” forgotten in the archives for half a century, is nowadays considered as a masterpiece of underground cartography. Little was known about Max Kämper despite several attempts of American speleo-historians. Most traces were wiped out in two world wars. Nevertheless the authors could find out details of the biography of Max Kämper in German archives. The text is based based upon the radio story “Suche nach Max,” broadcasted by Hessischer Rundfunk - hr1 December 26, 1999, audio download available on http://www.kliebhan.de/kaemper.htm


Mammoth Cave International Center For Science And Learning, Rick Toomey, Shannon R. Trimboli, Bob Ward, Mike Adams, Blaine Ferrell Oct 2008

Mammoth Cave International Center For Science And Learning, Rick Toomey, Shannon R. Trimboli, Bob Ward, Mike Adams, Blaine Ferrell

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

The Mammoth Cave International Center for Science and Learning (MCICSL) is a cooperative venture of Mammoth Cave National Park and Western Kentucky University. Funding, logistical support, and governance of MCICSL are shared equally by both entities. MCICSL is part of a national network of research learning centers located within the National Park Service.

The goals of MCICSL and the other research learning centers are to:

I. Facilitate the use of parks for scientific inquiry.

II. Support science-informed decision making.

III. Communicate the relevance of and provide access to knowledge gained through scientific research.

IV. Promote science literacy and resource stewardship. …


The Lamps That Lit Their Way, Rick Olson Oct 2008

The Lamps That Lit Their Way, Rick Olson

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

The distinctive lanterns used at Mammoth Cave from the middle 1800s until 1938 appear to be a locally derived design. Early whale oil railroad lanterns share some characteristics of the Mammoth Cave lanterns, but L&N Railroad lanterns do not appear to have influenced the design. At this time, the design pathway appears to lead from simple open-flame tin candle lanterns to the same lantern with a petticoat lamp affixed in place of the candle, and then finally to the font or oil container being soldered onto the lamp base as one unit. This basic Mammoth Cave lantern varied somewhat over …


A Long History Of Linkages And Synergy: Western Kentucky University And The Mammoth Cave System, Deana Groves, Chris Groves, Weldon Hawkins Oct 2008

A Long History Of Linkages And Synergy: Western Kentucky University And The Mammoth Cave System, Deana Groves, Chris Groves, Weldon Hawkins

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.


The Puzzling Mr. Janin And Mammoth Cave Management, 1900-1910, Katie Algeo Oct 2008

The Puzzling Mr. Janin And Mammoth Cave Management, 1900-1910, Katie Algeo

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Albert Covington Janin was the key architect of tourism development at Mammoth Cave for two decades at the start of the twentieth century, yet little has been written about his tenure. This paper explores his background and accomplishments for the period 1900 to 1910 as an initial attempt to understand his contributions to Mammoth Cave. Material about his activities in relation to Mammoth Cave is synthesized from primary sources in the archival collections of the Huntington Library (HL) of San Marino, California, and the Historical Society of Washington, DC (HSW).


Contributions To Karst Science And Education From The Mammoth Cave Region, Chris Groves, William B. White Oct 2008

Contributions To Karst Science And Education From The Mammoth Cave Region, Chris Groves, William B. White

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.


Mammoth Cave: What A Difference A Few Friends Can Make, Lajuana S. Wilcher Oct 2008

Mammoth Cave: What A Difference A Few Friends Can Make, Lajuana S. Wilcher

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.


Mapping Of Mammoth Cave: How Cartography Fueled Discoveries, With Emphasis On Max Kaemper’S 1908 Map, Roger W. Brucker Oct 2008

Mapping Of Mammoth Cave: How Cartography Fueled Discoveries, With Emphasis On Max Kaemper’S 1908 Map, Roger W. Brucker

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Maps came first at Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. Then came explorers who used the maps to make discoveries as they gained a more comprehensive understanding of the longest cave in the world. The saga of mapping at Mammoth Cave parallels the mapping of North America from the 1600s onward. The first map was an “Eye-Draught Map of Mammoth Cave”, penned from memory in 1811, not a survey, to acquaint merchants with the location of saltpeter dirt. In 1835 the managers of Mammoth Cave hired a surveyor, Edmond Lee, to survey and map and profile the main cave passages. Stephen Bishop, a …


Max Kaemper’S Unique Selection Of Place Names For His 1908 Map Of Mammoth Cave, Charles A. Swedlund, George M. Crothers Oct 2008

Max Kaemper’S Unique Selection Of Place Names For His 1908 Map Of Mammoth Cave, Charles A. Swedlund, George M. Crothers

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

In this paper we present Max Kaemper’s unique selection of Place Names for his 1908 map of Mammoth Cave. He realized the importance of Place Names and they became a feature on his map. His sensitive selection of Place Names provides a greater cultural emphasis, when compared to the previous maps.


The Evolution Of Cave Mapping And Cartography, Pat Kambesis Oct 2008

The Evolution Of Cave Mapping And Cartography, Pat Kambesis

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

“Does it go?” Is the initial question that has inspired many a cave explorer to push the extent of a cave system. But the answer only brings more questions…how far, how long, how deep does it go? During the exploration process, as a cave system reveals its complexity, the questions also change – what is the cave’s relationship to the surface, and to surrounding caves? What are the features and obstacles that the cave contains? Those involved in cave exploration know that the only way to answer these questions is with systematic documentation in the form of cave and surface …


Mammoth Cave National Park's Max Kaemper Centennial Symposium & 9th Science Symposium: Cultural History And Research, Shannon Trimboli , Editor Oct 2008

Mammoth Cave National Park's Max Kaemper Centennial Symposium & 9th Science Symposium: Cultural History And Research, Shannon Trimboli , Editor

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.